(a) General. Within 30 days after an applicant or permittee is notified of the decision of the regulatory authority concerning an application for approval of exploration required under part 772 of this chapter, a permit for surface coal mining and reclamation operations, a permit revision, a permit renewal, or a transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights, the applicant, permittee, or any person with an interest which is or may be adversely affected may request a hearing on the reasons for the decision, in accordance with this section.

(b) Administrative hearings under State programs.

(1) The regulatory authority shall start the administrative hearing within 30 days of such request. The hearing shall be on the record and adjudicatory in nature. No person who presided at an informal conference under §773.6(c) shall either preside at the hearing or participate in the decision following the hearing or administrative appeal.

(2) The regulatory authority may, under such conditions as it prescribes, grant such temporary relief as it deems appropriate, pending final determination of the proceeding, if—

(i) All parties to the proceeding have been notified and given an opportunity to be heard on a request for temporary relief;

(ii) The person requesting that relief shows that there is a substantial likelihood that he or she will prevail on the merits of the final determination of the proceeding;

(iii) The relief sought will not adversely affect the public health or safety, or cause significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air, or water resources; and

(iv) The relief sought is not the issuance of a permit where a permit has been denied, in whole or in part, by the regulatory authority except that continuation under an existing permit may be allowed where the operation has a valid permit issued under section 510 of the Act.

(3) The hearing shall be conducted under the following conditions:

(i) The hearing authority may administer oaths and affirmations, subpoena witnesses and written or printed materials, compel attendance of witnesses or production of those materials, compel discovery, and take evidence, including, but not limited to, site inspections of the land to be affected and other surface coal mining and reclamation operations carried on by the applicant in the general vicinity of the proposed operations.

(ii) A verbatim record of each public hearing required by this section shall be made, and a transcript made available on the motion of any party or by order of the hearing authority.

(iii) Ex parte contacts between representatives of the parties appearing before the hearing authority and the hearing authority shall be prohibited.

(4) Within 30 days after the close of the record, the hearing authority shall issue and furnish the applicant and each person who participated in the hearing with the written findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order of the hearing authority with respect to the appeal of the decision.

(5) The burden of proof at such hearings shall be on the party seeking to reverse the decision of the regulatory authority.

(c) Administrative hearings under Federal programs and Federal lands programs. All hearings, under a Federal program for a State or a Federal lands program except as may be modified by a cooperative agreement pursuant to part 745 of this chapter, on an application for approval of exploration, a permit for surface coal mining and reclamation operations, permit revision, a permit renewal, or a transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights shall be of record and governed by 5 U.S.C. 554 and 43 CFR part 4.

[48 FR 44397, Sept. 28, 1983, as amended at 65 FR 79668, Dec. 19, 2000]